October 2, 2014
The Great Charles R. Drew Story
PU120- Unit 3 Assignment
Often times many people stop and sometimes wonder where did an item come from, who made this up, and I wish I thought of this first. Well everything we use on day to day bases has been created by someone with a strong drive and creative, brilliant mind. To be the first to develop or use a new method is called a pioneer. Doctor Charles Drew an African American man who pioneered many of today's advancements in blood research and transfusion. Dr. Drew had managed two of the world’s largest blood banks during World War II. In 1938 Dr. Drew developed a method that would allow him to preserve blood without the use of cells. It allowed it to be stored for longer period of times and dried then reconstituted when needed. Upon his successful research Columbia University awarded him; the first African American to ever receive his Doctorate Degree in1940. At this point in Dr. Drew’s life he was being asked to help during World War II to effectively use his research to head several hospitals in New York to help treat casualties in the war. He was asked by American Red Cross to use his medical research to help treat U.S. soldiers (Drew Bio 2013). Dr. Charles Drew being an African American man in these times did cause him to undergo a few obstacles in his life’s journey but never stopped his beliefs, power, and drive. As stated by Reverend Jerry Moore in 1950 at Dr. Drew’s funeral “He has had a life which crowds into a handful of years' significance, so great, men will never be able to forget it”. This statement is in fact very true because still till this day Dr. Drew’s name is being honored and his medical practice still lives on to help those needing this. I was one patient years ago that underwent a very serious blood loss while giving birth and needed an emergency blood transfusion and to think if Dr. Drew never made this miraculous